Cultural Exchange began from the moment the Friends of Suai was begun. I first saw photographs of Suai brought back by Councillor David Brand and Steve Dunn who were the first Pt Phillip residents to travel to Suai in the name of the new initiative. At the launch in Pt Phillip Timorese residents of Melbourne brought music, dance, weavings, paintings, pottery, carvings and food to the launch. It has continued with the exchange of textiles, hospitality, music, videos and photographs and many other things.
I’m sure that many Timorese learned a lot about the people of Pt Phillip from the gifts that we sent them in 2000 on the truck sent along with many gifts including bicycles, stuffed toys and clothing. Unfortunately some of the best gifts didn’t arrive - but that’s another story.
The Circle of Stones event held in St Kilda on the Second Anniversary of the Suai Church Massacre and organised by the staff of the St Kilda Library was not strictly speaking a ‘cultural exchange’ but in another way it was. It was an act of remembrance inspired by the Circle of Stones in Suai.
In 2002 Open Flows - a project funded by the Australia Council included a visit of Adelaide artist Phil Bradley to Suai to undertake a residency with my friend Sergio da Costa. They simply drew together and exchanged drawings.
It is very common in East Timor to honour guests and to thank them by the draping of a hand woven tais scarf around our neck. Many Pt Phillip visitors returned from Suai with these. In 2006 we returned the compliment when Pat Jessen presented Simoan Barros and Ergilio Vicente with silk scarfs printed with aboriginal designs.
In 2007 Elizabeth Milsom whose father was in East Timor in WW2 applied for funding to undertake a residency in Suai but was unsuccessful. However she holds a collection of drawings and paintings her father made while in East Timor.
The Friends of Suai have in progress another project in which some Suai weavers will be commissioned to weave traditional tais for display in the new St Kilda Town Hall. Their tais will be on sale at a Forum about the tais in Pt Phillip in September 2008 on the occasion of the 9th Anniversary of the Massacre.
With the development of Suai Media Space we hope to see much more cultural exchange take place and see it documented here by the participants themselves.